Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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248. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht his response to the findings of the ESRI Report of 25 April 2025, “Profiling Short-Term Let Usage Across Ireland”; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21777/25]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the ESRI’s research, published on 25 April, profiling Short Term Letting (STL) usage across Ireland.

The research is based on data scraped from one STL platform at a point in time in September 2023. This data is less complete than the Fáilte Ireland data, which is up to date, gives a monthly breakdown and is based on data-scraping from the four largest booking platforms operating in Ireland. The ESRI report acknowledges that the data in its report is not wholly representative of the entire STL sector in Ireland and that there are also limitations associated with the geographic information provided. The anonymisation of the STL property locations means that exact matching with property level data from other sources such as the Residential Tenancies Board's rental register data and the Property Services Regulatory Authority's Property Price Register is not possible.

One of the report's findings is that establishing a detailed and comprehensive register covering all STL activity across Ireland is a crucial first step towards informed policymaking and this is an action to which my colleague, Minister Peter Burke TD, is committed to in the context of his role as Minister with responsibility for tourism. Formal transfer of this function will be given effect in the coming weeks by Government Order.

On 15 April, Minister Burke secured Cabinet approval to implement a register for all STLs in Ireland. It is intended that the STL register will be implemented on 20 May 2026 and will provide a full overview of STL stock in Ireland.

The ESRI report finds that policy responses to limit transfer of properties from the private rental sector to the STL sector are likely to be required, particularly in urban areas with large rental markets. On 15 April, my colleague Mr. James Browne TD, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, secured approval from Government for a new housing policy for STLs that will be set out in a National Planning Statement. This new policy will generally preclude new planning permissions for short term lets in cities and towns with a census population in excess of 10,000 persons, or as may be set by Regulations, and to enable local authorities have discretion to develop policies for other locations having regard to relevant local criteria to be set out in the guidance.

The ESRI report identified that between 2019-2023 the proportion of total listings for entire properties increased from 56.4% to 66.2%. It found that the number of whole property listings increased by 17.6% and there was a fall in private room listings of 22.3$. This aligns with Fáilte Ireland’s research which has found that, based on November 2024 data, there are approximately 32,000 STL properties in the State currently being advertised online and up to 64% of these properties are full houses and apartments. This research also points to an ongoing annual 10% increase in the size of the STL sector.

Minister Burke is fully aware of the genuine concerns regarding the impacts on rural tourism and local economies of removing a significant cohort of STL properties from the tourism market and he continues to engage with the sector in this regard. However, meeting local housing need across Ireland is a critically important consideration and this Government is committed to using every lever available to assist in meeting the range of housing need.

Minister Burke’s officials continue to engage with sectoral and stakeholder representatives and indeed met as recently as Tuesday 29 April to discuss the introduction of the new regulatory controls for the STL sector.